The local company's "teamwork" motto helped it become one of the nation's top companies for which to work, according to Outside magazine.

Outside magazine has named RSI No. 21 in its second-annual ranking of the nation's top 30 "Best Places to Work" according to its most recent publication.

RSI corporate officials announced the rating during a celebration breakfast Friday at Oak Ridge's DoubleTree Hotel.

"RSI is 12 years old this year," Vice President Rick Ferguson said Friday morning. The company has lasted that long because it is respected for its work and because of its comfortable work atmosphere, Ferguson explained.

Restoration Services Inc. works to clean up environmental damage done at former uranium-enrichment sites. Its activities include decontamination, demolition and recycling, according to the brief statement that appears with its No. 21 ranking in the Outside magazine article.

The woman-owned company holds contracts with the Department of Energy supporting projects in Oak Ridge; Paducah, Ky.; Portsmouth, Ohio; and Aiken, S.C.

Company Vice President Pete Caswell praised RSI's 100 employees for their efforts to improve their health and their involvement with the local community. He also talked about current proposals that RSI has submitted to work on projects at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex.

Caswell said RSI plans to use some federal stimulus funding to help create additional jobs and train persons who've lost their jobs in other industries "to do what we do."

RSI President Staci Ferguson praised the employees for their diligence and hard work: "I'm proud of you all," she said at the end of the breakfast, which also featured brief remarks from U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-3rd District.

Outside magazine selected the "Best Places to Work" through a year-long research effort that sought information from eligible companies -- those with at least 15 employees working in the U.S., according to information included with the article.

Participating companies then received confidential employee-satisfaction questionnaires to collect information about benefits, policies and practices.